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MATHEMATICS
On the class of two-dimensional geodesic curves in the field of the gravity force
S. O. Gladkov,
S. B. Bogdanova Moscow Aviation
Institute, Department of Applied software and mathematical methods, Moscow, Russian
Federation
Abstract:
In this paper, without using methods of variational calculus, the problem of finding a geodesic
in a curved space with respect to gravitational and dissipative forces was solved. Solving it, we
use the most convenient polar coordinates
$r, \varphi$. The basic assumption relies on the fact that dynamical motion equations written in curvilinear coordinates in which the Riemann curvature
$R$ is different from zero rather strongly differ from similar equations in the case of a flat space.
To obtain the required equation of a geodesic arc, a contravariant vector of the velocity
$\nu^i=\frac{dx^i}{dt}$ was introduced. For this vector, with regard to all active forces, the following equation
was solved:
$$
\frac{d\nu^i}{dt}+\Gamma_{kl}^i\nu^k\nu^l=g^i+\frac{F^i}m,
$$
$g^i$ are acceleration components of the gravitational force of the two-dimensional
$r-\varphi$ space, and
the dissipative force is
$$
F^i=k_1^{ik}N^k+k_2\nu^i,
$$
$k_1^{ik}$ are tensor components of the dry friction,
$k_2$ is the coefficient of the viscous friction, and
$N^i$ are the force components.
Provided that the scalar curvature of Riemann is different from zero,
$$
R=\frac{\partial\Gamma^r_{\varphi\varphi}}{\partial r}-\frac{\partial\Gamma^{\varphi}_{r\varphi}}{\partial r}+\Gamma^r_{\varphi\varphi}\Gamma^{\varphi}_{r\varphi}-\Gamma^{\varphi}_{r\varphi}\Gamma^r_{\varphi\varphi}=\frac2{r^2}\ne0,
$$
a nonlinear system of differential equations governing the required geodesic was obtained in the
polar coordinates
$r$ and
$\varphi$:
$$
\begin{cases}
\ddot{r}-r\dot{\varphi}^2=g\sin\varphi+\frac{F_{\mathrm{fr}}}{m}\cos(\alpha-\varphi),\\
r\ddot{\varphi}+3\dot{r}\dot{\varphi}=-g\cos\varphi-\frac{F_{\mathrm{fr}}}{m}\sin(\alpha-\varphi),
\end{cases}
$$
where
$r=|\mathbf{r}|=|\mathbf{i}x+\mathbf{j}y|$ is the length of the radius-vector drawn from the origin of coordinates to
the observation point
$M$ lying on the geodesic line
$y=y(x)$,
$\varphi$ is the polar angle of the reference point, and
$\alpha$ is the acute angle between the tangent drawn to the point of
$M$ and to axis of abscissas.
The analytical and numerical solutions of this system in the absence of the resistance forces,
i.e.
$F_{fr}=0$, showed the great difference between the found geodesic and the parabola typical for
the case of free fall of bodies in the gravitational field in Euclidean space.
Keywords:
geodesic, Riemann tensor, dynamical equations.
UDC:
531.011
MSC: 53Z05 Received: 06.09.2018
DOI:
10.17223/19988621/58/1